As the equity market continues to pullback and more or less erase gains for the year, concerned investors can take on some exposure to bearish or inverse ETFs to hedge against further falls. For example, the ProShares Short S&P500 (SH) takes a simple inverse or -100% daily performance of the S&P 500 index. Alternatively, for the more aggressive trader, leveraged options include the ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF (SDS) , which tries to reflect the -2x or -200% daily performance of the S&P 500, the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3x Shares (SPXS) , which takes the -3x or -300% daily performance of the S&P 500, and ProShares UltraPro Short S&P 500 ETF (SPXU) , which also takes the -300% daily performance of the S&P 500.

Historically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned an average 0.6% over October, which has made it the seventh-best month of the year. The S&P 500 typically added 0.9% over October, which is also good enough for seventh place, with the same ratio of positive October months to negative ones as the Dow. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index's October was historically the eighth-best month of the year, going back 46 years.

Equity investors who are wary of any further swings can look to alternative ETF strategies to limit the potential risks. According to data from "Stock Trader's Almanac," the month of September has been the worst performing month of the year for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 since 1950, the worst for the Nasdaq since 1971, and the most difficult for the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 since 1979, CNBC reports.

Trade tensions, especially between the world’s two largest economies, have been playing foul on the stock market over the past several months. The new tariff will go into effect sometime after Aug 30. China’s commerce ministry called the U.S. actions “completely unacceptable” and warned of retaliatory moves.

The latest shot in the escalating trade dispute could prove to be catastrophic for stocks, thereby raising the appeal for inverse or leveraged inverse ETFs that could generate big gains in a short span.